Boston College and Rhode Island, each with a pair of high-flying brothers in the starting lineup, will square off against each other Wednesday night in Kingston, R.I.
BC guards Makai Ashton-Langford and DeMarr Langford average a combined 30.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists in leading the Eagles (3-0), who won all three nonconference tune-ups at Conte Forum ahead of their first road game against URI.
DeMarr has been the Eagles’ leading scorer averaging 17.3 points, while his older brother Ashton-Langford ranks second (13.0 per game).
“We did what we needed to do,” first-year Boston College coach Earl Grant said after the 72-64 victory over Fairfield on Sunday. The Eagles jumped out to a 33-27 halftime lead and let the Stags hang around well into the second half before pulling away.
“(In) college basketball, anything crazy can happen this time of year, so I knew that was going to be a challenge,” Grant said.
For Rhode Island, twin-brother forwards Makhel and Makhi Mitchell-led are combing to score 22.5 points and grabbing 16.5 rebounds as the Rams (2-0) opened the season with back-to-back victories, most recently an 83-64 decision over in-state foe Bryant on Friday.
Makhel led the Rams against Bryant with 17 points and seven rebounds while Makhi contributed 13 points and 18 rebounds.
“The winning is obviously important, but right now, we’re reclaiming our culture, to be perfectly honest,” Rhode Island coach David Cox said of his team’s early-season approach.
Ishmael Leggett is the Rams’ leading scorer (15.5 points per game), as five players average at least nine points a game.
Boston College holds a 38-14 lead in the all-time series against Rhode Island. In their most recent meeting, the Eagles were 69-64 winners over the Rams last November.
–Field Level Media
